Which adventure will you choose?

creating

This is now the fifth time I’ve started this blog post. The writing is not coming easily today and emotions are getting in the way.

I wish to send my thoughts to Stan Lee’s family and friends. While I never actually had the chance to meet him, my son ran into him several times at conventions. I would like to think that we would’ve gotten along quite well, both of us being creators and all.

I am thankful that I get to be a creator. Even on days when the writing isn’t going well. I know this too will pass. It, more than likely, is actually a stalling period right before a major idea strikes. Pregnant women often talk about how the baby stops moving right before it’s born, as if the child is conserving energy. Well, that didn’t happen with either of mine that I recall, but I know it happens with ideas. Usually there is a short time where I feel lacking all creativity. Then, suddenly, BANG! The story is out of the gate.

I did finish the audio for I’m with Cupid and I’ve started recording For Sale, Call Loki, so I’ll be editing that starting this week. I’m with Cupid ended up being very short — of course, it is a short story — and comes in just under 28 minutes long.

I’m making the change from recording and doing preliminary edits in Audacity to working completely in Adobe Audition. That’s been a little bit of a learning curve, but not too bad since I’ve been editing and mastering with Audition for several months now. I’m excited about the possibilities this brings me, even though it’s a complete reworking of my process.

While there are times I do believe you need to keep a critical eye with your art (which in a sense is making a judgement about yourself, or rather the work you have done), I can also relate to this quote.

Please note how I phrased that in the parenthesis. When you are creating, it is very easy to think at first that you are judging yourself when you are checking over your art. but you aren’t. It is something you created. It is now separate from you. If a piece isn’t turning out as well as you hoped, it’s not that you are a bad artist. In fact, this is a good thing. It actually means you are growing as an artist and seek a higher level of craftsmanship. So don’t get all depressed (and break your heart) believing you’re no good. Rather, remember that it’s a sign of your learning. Go back and keep working on that piece until it is better. Keep the judgement on the work instead of yourself. That’s where it belongs.

As long as you can keep the separation between you and your work, you’ll keep pushing yourself to get better and better.